While it’s still possible for the Rangers to be in the Stanley Cup discussion, many things need to go right for them. Most of them center around last year’s players rebounding to expected performances, which doesn’t seem like too much of an ask. That said, there are still some pretty big questions for the Rangers as they head into the season, and how they turn out could determine their fate by as early as December.

1. Who are the centers?

The common theme this summer has been figuring out which players will wind up at center. The popular pick seems to be Juuso Parssinen, but that pick seems to be rooted in the fact that Mika Zibanejad is a winger, not a center. Zibanejad looked great alongside JT Miller, and that’s good as a backup plan. But given the roster construction, who would be the 3C? Juuso Parssinen? Jonny Brodzinski? Not exactly strong options.

Expect Mika Zibanejad to start the season as the 2C/3C. The role will likely be in a sheltered offensive zone situation, so the line number is less important than the role itself. I’ve been stating 2C as I see that as the offensive zone start line with the third line being more of a shutdown line. If you want to flip it so Vincent Trocheck is the 2C, by all means go for it. Tomato, tomahto.

If this doesn’t work out, then the Rangers will likely turn to Noah Laba if he’s ready or look to grab one via trade. Though a trade will depend on where the Rangers sit in the standings come the break for the Olympics.

Of the big questions for the Rangers, center may be the most important question. Depth down the middle wins. Most Stanley Cup winners have that in common.

2. Will the bottom-four on defense be enough?

On the blue line, the only guarantee heading into the season is we will have Vlad Gavrikov and Adam Fox as the top pair. You don’t sign Gavrikov to that contract to put him next to Will Borgen or Braden Schneider. He will play next to Fox. Chris Drury danced around the question, but mostly because it’s not his call, it’s Mike Sullivan’s, and even though they are likely in agreement, it’s a question Sully should answer, not Drury.

After that, the defense pairs are a mixed bag. Scott Morrow is probably penciled into the 3RD spot, meaning Braden Schneider moves to 2LD alongside Borgen. This leaves Carson Soucy to play with Morrow. Sully has won with worse, but it’s not exactly a strong defense group on paper. Urho Vaakanainen is probably best served as the 7D at this point.

The big questions for the Rangers here are what they have in this bottom four with Sully. Soucy, by far the weakest skater among this group, had surprisingly solid numbers with Fox last year, so perhaps there’s something we are missing. Borgen had good numbers before last season. Schneider was dealing with a torn labrum for two years.

The blind optimist hopes for everyone to rebound in a big way. Though the realist in me says we should expect some improved performance, but not at career bests for the veterans. Schneider and Morrow are true wild cards.

3. Is the Sully factor enough?

Outside of the players, we have been banking on the Sully factor on this site a lot. Sully is a top-tier NHL coach, up there with Jon Cooper, Jared Bednar, and Paul Maurice. He’s had strong success everywhere he’s gone, and even his bad seasons in Pittsburgh weren’t as bad as everyone thinks. The Penguins last year were a top-ten puck possession team done in by the worst goaltending I’ve ever seen. If Igor Shesterkin was a Penguin last year, the Penguins probably make the playoffs.

It’s virtually impossible to account for the Sully factor when doing any kind of preseason predictions. What we do know is he simplifies things on the defensive end and gets buy-in from everyone to focus on a five-man team defense approach. Centers are critical (see question #1), as they are the first guys in on the backcheck to provide support. The rest is pretty simple. Keep the chances to the outside and limit slot line passes.

The Sully factor, on paper, should be enough to get the Rangers back into the playoffs. But the Sully factor is predicated on the team actually buying in, knowing their roles, and executing their roles successfully. Perfection is impossible and mistakes will happen. That’s hockey. The 80/20 rule applies here (not the Pareto Principle), whereby you live with the 80% you like and deal with the 20% you don’t like. Applying this to the Rangers, you deal with the 20% (mistakes) as long as the 80% (expected results) are fine.

No roster is set in July, so what we see now isn’t what we will see in March, April, or May, should the Rangers get that far. There are many questions for the Rangers as they head into the dog days of summer, and we likely won’t have answers until winter. Until then, enjoy the ride.

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